DUESSELDORF, Germany (AP) — Bayer Leverkusen is in one of those races again. Borussia Dortmund is no longer a shadow of itself.
Last season’s two standout Germans are following opposite trajectories as pressure mounts in the Bundesliga and Champions League.
Ten consecutive victories in all competitions have allowed Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen, current champion of the national league, to surpass Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga and move into fourth position in the Champions League standings, made up of 36 teams.
Of course, that’s not last season’s record of 51 games without defeat, and Leverkusen are still four points behind Bayern, but that means Alonso remains one of the most sought-after coaches in world football ahead of Saturday’s Bundesliga clash against Borussia. Mönchengladbach.
The same can be said of Nuri Sahin, coach of Dortmund, runners-up in last year’s Champions League. His side have won just once in their last seven games since November and reached a new low in a 4-2 loss to relegation-threatened Holstein Kiel on Tuesday.
Sahin described this role as “shameful” and stated that he assumes his responsibility as a coach. Dortmund are now in 10th place, just five points away from the Champions League qualification places.
Friday’s game against Eintracht Frankfurt could be vital to any hopes of a recovery.
The club said Sahin’s job was not threatened. Sahin has already fallen on hard times in his seven months in office and there is no apparent successor.
Firing him could also prompt scrutiny of the Dortmund management’s decision to opt for Sahin in the first place, despite his relative inexperience, and how it handled the relationship with his predecessor Edin Terzic, who resigned after leading the team to the Champions League final in June.
When Leverkusen beat Dortmund 3-2 last week, it highlighted how both have dealt with adversity.
Leverkusen has been missing first-choice striker Victor Boniface since a hamstring injury in November but in his absence Patrik Schick has stepped up. The Czech forward has scored 11 goals in the last two months to keep Leverkusen on course. The main surprise from Leverkusen’s 1-0 win over Mainz on Tuesday was arguably that the goal came from an Alejandro Grimaldo free kick, not Schick.
Dortmund, meanwhile, have a worrying tendency to lose concentration for long periods. Even with several players ill, conceding 3 goals to Leverkusen in the first 19 minutes was alarming, especially as Dortmund had over 80% ownership in that period. Conceding 3 against Kiel in 20 minutes was another low point.
Meanwhile, Bayern host Wolfsburg on Saturday and are yet to concede a goal in 2025. All is remaining calm in Munich despite potential distractions as speculation mounts over the futures of several players whose contracts are set to expire soon, including Leroy Sane, who scored twice in Bayern’s 5-0 win over Hoffenheim on Wednesday.
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